'Glee': The Return of 'Trouty Mouth' Sam

Oh Sam, how we've missed you. Chord Overstreet returned to "Glee" for Episode 8, "Hold on to Sixteen," and it was all we hoped for and more. We may never know why Chord left the show in the first place, but it was good to have him back. "Glee" gave Sam a funny Toby Keith tune to perform called "Red Solo Cup," which is sort of a cross between country and beat poetry. You can have a listen on the "Glee" music site here. Sam's always had one of the strongest male voices on the show, so it was a treat to get a solo about Solo from him on his first episode back.

One of the sure-to-be-most-talked-about highlights of this "Glee" episode was, of course, Finn (Cory Monteith) and Rachel (Lea Michele) discovering that Sam's new after-school job was as a stripper named "White Chocolate." Any excuse to show off Sam's abs again, right? This was also just another opportunity for Chord to get harassed by his fellow castmates, and yes, the pic below is of Cory's phone with a blackmail-worthy photo of the blond hottie in his underwear.

Sam's abrupt departure left Mercedes (Amber Riley) without a boyfriend once again, which the "Glee" writers compensated for by just as abruptly finding her a new guy. That slapdash storytelling was one of the weaknesses of an otherwise greatly improved Season 3, so it's been a relief to see Sam reintroduced to Mercedes' love life. His plan is to win back her love after their "summer fling," and it looks like Mercedes isn't too upset about this new development. What girl doesn't want two boyfriends fighting over her?

One more bonus of the return of Sam's ruby red lips is, of course, Santana's (Naya Rivera) famed monologues about his "trouty mouth." "Glee" had fun with the snarky cheerleader's obsession with Sam's pout, having her whip out a list of fresh "OMG your mouth is so big" insults she'd been jotting down ever since he left. Sam's good-natured response showed he'd missed Santana's clever jabs as much as we did.

The bad news in all of this is it appears Sam may not be in for the long haul. The early reports on Overstreet's reappearance noted he'd be on "Glee" for a "multi-episode arc." How long Sam sticks around may be contingent upon how well his storyline goes over and what the ratings say about his return. Judging how fans reacted after the first time he left, I would suspect that even if Sam isn't a regular on the show, they'll leave it open enough for him to return for future episodes.

Want to know more about "Glee" episode "Hold on to Sixteen"? Check out: "New Directions and Troubletones: Are Two 'Glee' Clubs Better Than One?"

"Up All Night" Like a Bad "Saturday Night Live" Episode--A Really Bad Episode

Christina Applegate and Will Arnett look as depressed
as we feel watching Up All Night.

Thanks to Up All Night, Will Arnett now has the distinction of starring in two sitcoms I turned off before they were over (the other was Running Wilde). At least this time I made it halfway through episode "New Car," but it was a painful 12 minutes. It's sad when you take Saturday Night Live writer and Parks & Recreation producer Emily Spivey and put her together with Maya Rudolph, Christina Applegate, and Will Arnett and you get this painfully awkward mess.

The beginning of the episode focused on Chris (Arnett) trying to bring the sexy back to his relationship with Reagan (Applegate). He's frustrated that she goes from attractive power-suited woman to a new mom in white sweats who thinks it's hilarious when she drops a spaghetti meatball in her lap. It's amazing I was able to contain the laughter.

There were a few funny moments, mostly supplied by guest star Will Forte, who appears as a relaxed, hippie-esque dude who offers Chris some advice on a sexy Dad makeover--and generally steps over personal boundaries.

Sadly, fellow SNL alum Maya Rudolph doesn't fare so well. Starring in Up All Night as a talk show host and unstable crazy woman, in "New Car" she finds out a destructive ex-boyfriend is getting married. Rudolph was one of my favorite performers on the late night sketch comedy show, but no one really seems to know how to cultivate her talents outside that realm. Once they got into the bad 80s flashback of her music video with her boy band boyfriend, my hand went for the remote.

Like many a Saturday Night Live episode, some of the set-ups seem like they should be funny, but they just aren't. The actors look uncomfortable, like they're trying to force the humor, and the whole thing becomes way too painful to watch.

There seemed to be a lot of hype and expectation for this show, which was the reason I tuned in to watch. I was sadly disappointed, and it looks like other viewers are as well. HitFix reports that the show's ratings have been sliding downward, and if they keep slipping, Up All Night could get relocated or removed altogether.

With the talented cast, maybe the show has the potential to get better. I just couldn't wait.

Up All Night currently airs on NBC, Wednesday nights at 8/7c.

PHOTOS: Up All Night, "New Car" screencaps, c2011 Broadway Video, UMS, NBC.

Tweet